For sale is a DIY packraft, their 2-person version (it’s the previous 2-person model, the “Voyageur”, not the current two-person model for sale on the site). If you’re not familiar with the brand, check out diypackraft dot com. For our family and where we go a canoe just makes more sense, that’s why we’re moving on from it.

Some specifics for this build… The Voyageur model came with 79″ internal length I believe, but I bought extra fabric and made the interior length 100″ long. It’s 18″ wide on the inside. It easily fits two adults and two kids, two larger adults and big packs, or three reasonably sized adults. 210D fabric for the tubes, 1000D fabric for the floor. This was my first DIY packraft build, and as others report on the DIYpackraft forum and elsewhere, it’s ugly and sloppy the first time you do it. Lots of seams where I didn’t heat seal enough and then required glue to seal it, etc. I also was having issues keeping debris out of the airtight zipper, so I cut it out and sealed/glued in a patch near the inflation valve that you can see. But despite all that, it’s airtight and works. It’s been down the south fork of the flathead and out on lakes and reservoirs with my kids, plus other mellow rivers here in Montana. Still only at about 15 days on the water though.

Because of the length, it paddles like a canoe. That means for optimal maneuvering, break the paddle apart and have a front and back paddler just like with a two person canoe. But for mellow water and lakes/reservoirs, 1-person kayak-style worked fine. If you Google “Bruce’s Voyageur 2-Person DIY Packraft – First Float!” you can read about the Voyageur model.

Also included is the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Aluminum 4-piece paddle, 240cm (currently sells new at $120), the inflation bag (it’s the red and yellow bag in the pics), a tube to top-up the raft while on the water, an inflatable floor that gives the raft some stiffness, some extra valves in case you want to make it self-bailing, some tyvek tape, the TIZIP airtight zipper, some more tie-downs that I never put on the raft, and some extra floor and tube fabric.

The raft alone is 10 lbs even. The inflatable floor is 1 lb 9.5oz, and the inflation bag and top-up tube are 9.5 oz. Packed size for the raft only is about 19 in. X 9.5 in., but there may be more efficient ways to pack it.

The kit was $320 when I bought it. Extra fabric and valves was another $150. Then the paddle. Then about 40 hours of assembly and another 30-40 hours finding all the little air leaks.

Price for everything is $650, shipped, plus 3% unless paying via Paypal friends/family. Alternatively, get in touch if you’re near Helena, MT and want to pick it up and save decent money since I won’t have to pay shipping.

(Sorry for how long this write-up is! It’s a unique item, and I don’t want anyone to be caught off-guard with something fairly expensive)

Thanks,

Joe